Fangyan
Definition, Meaning & Examples
Part of speech noun
Quick meaning: Fangyan is a noun meaning Synonym of topolect (a regional variety of Chinese).
Meaning
Synonym of topolect (a regional variety of Chinese).
Example Sentences
During this time the language has diversified into a number of so-called fangyan which share the same written form but are radically different in phonology, to such an extent that the spoken fangyan are not mutually intelligible.
If analyzed by the standards applied to languages in Europe or South Asia, these fangyan would be classified as branches of the Sinitic group. Speakers from any one of the major fangyan are incapable of conversing with speakers from those of any of the other major fangyan.
One consequence of such misinformation is the tendency to view Mandarin as a single Chinese language, and fangyan as subdivisions of it.[…] Actually, Chao Yuen Ren (2002b, 82) himself, in a 1959 lecture at National Taiwan University, accepted that 'fangyan in the broad sense if the term refers to fundamentally different languages'.
Synonyms for fangyan
Depending on context, synonyms include topolect.
Related Words
Related dictionary entries include topolect, wenyan.
Related Dictionary Tools
Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
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